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Ezekiel 34
New English Translation

A Prophecy Against False Shepherds

34 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds[a] of Israel; prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep! 4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshness[b] you have ruled over them. 5 They were scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast.[c] 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over the entire face of the earth with no one looking or searching for them.

7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, listen to the Lord’s message: 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep. 9 Therefore, you shepherds, listen to the Lord’s message. 10 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand my sheep from their hand. I will no longer let them be shepherds;[d] the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they will no longer be food for them.

11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day.[e] 13 I will bring them out from among the peoples and gather them from foreign countries; I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and all the inhabited places of the land. 14 In a good pasture I will feed them; the mountain heights of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in a lush[f] pasture, and they will feed on rich grass on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will feed my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them—with judgment!

17 “‘As for you, my sheep, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats. 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? When you drink clean water, must you muddy the rest of the water by trampling it with your feet? 19 As for my sheep, they must eat what you trampled with your feet and drink what you have muddied with your feet!

20 “‘Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you push with your side and your shoulder, and thrust your horns at all the weak sheep until you scatter them abroad,[g] 22 I will save my sheep; they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.

23 “‘I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them—namely, my servant David.[h] He will feed them and will be their shepherd. 24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince[i] among them; I, the Lord, have spoken!

25 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely[j] in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods.[k] 26 I will turn them and the regions around my hill into a blessing. I will make showers come down in their season; they will be showers that bring blessing.[l] 27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the earth will yield its crops. They will live securely on their land; they will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the wild beasts will not devour them. They will live securely, and no one will make them afraid. 29 I will prepare for them a healthy[m] planting. They will no longer be victims[n] of famine in the land and will no longer bear the insults of the nations. 30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them,[o] and that they are my people, the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.[p] 31 And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people,[q] and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 34:2 tn The term shepherd is applied to kings in the ancient Near East. In the OT the Lord is often addressed as shepherd of Israel (Gen 49:24; Ps 8:1). The imagery of shepherds as Israel’s leaders is also employed (Jer 23:1-2).
  2. Ezekiel 34:4 tn The term translated “harshness” is used to describe the oppression the Israelites suffered as slaves in Egypt (Exod 1:13).
  3. Ezekiel 34:5 tn As a case of dittography, the MT repeats “and they were scattered” at the end of the verse.
  4. Ezekiel 34:10 tn Heb “I will cause them to cease from feeding sheep.”
  5. Ezekiel 34:12 sn The imagery may reflect the overthrow of the Israelites by the Babylonians in 587/6 b.c.
  6. Ezekiel 34:14 tn Heb “good.”
  7. Ezekiel 34:21 tn Heb “outside.”
  8. Ezekiel 34:23 sn The messianic king is here called “David” (see Jer 30:9 and Hos 3:5, as well as Isa 11:1 and Mic 5:2) because he will fulfill the Davidic royal ideal depicted in the prophets and royal psalms (see Pss 2; 89).
  9. Ezekiel 34:24 sn The messianic king (“David”) is called both “king” and “prince” in 37:24-25. The use of the term “prince” for this king facilitates the contrast between this ideal ruler and the Davidic “princes” denounced in earlier prophecies (see 7:27; 12:10, 12; 19:1; 21:25; 22:6, 25).
  10. Ezekiel 34:25 tn The phrase “live securely” occurs in Ezek 28:26; 38:8, 11, 14; 39:26 as an expression of freedom from fear. It is a promised blessing resulting from obedience (see Lev 26:5-6).
  11. Ezekiel 34:25 sn The woods were typically considered to be places of danger (Ps 104:20-21; Jer 5:6).
  12. Ezekiel 34:26 tn Heb “showers of blessing.” Abundant rain, which in turn produces fruit and crops (v. 27), is a covenantal blessing for obedience (Lev 26:4).
  13. Ezekiel 34:29 tc The MT reads לְשֵׁם (leshem, “for a name”), meaning perhaps a renowned planting (place). The translation takes this to be a metathesis of שָׁלֹם (shalom), as was read by the LXX.
  14. Ezekiel 34:29 tn Heb “those gathered” for famine.
  15. Ezekiel 34:30 sn A promise given to Abraham (Gen 15:7) and his descendants (Gen 15:8; Exod 6:7).
  16. Ezekiel 34:30 sn The blessings described in vv. 25-30 are those promised for obedience in Lev 26:4-13.
  17. Ezekiel 34:31 tn Heb, “the sheep of my pasture, you are human.” See 36:37-38 for a similar expression. The possessive pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation to balance “I am your God” in the next clause.
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Ezekiel 34
Legacy Standard Bible

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

34 Then the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the (A)shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to [a]those shepherds, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been [b](B)shepherding themselves! Should not the shepherds (C)shepherd the flock? 3 You (D)eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you (E)sacrifice the fat sheep without shepherding the flock. 4 Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, and the [c]diseased you have not healed, and (F)the broken you have not bound up, and the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you (G)searched for the lost; but with strength and with severity you have dominated them. 5 They were (H)scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became (I)food for every beast of the field and were scattered. 6 My flock (J)wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; (K)My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was (L)no one to seek or search for them.”’”

7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh: 8 “As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “surely because My flock has become (M)plunder, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not seek for My flock, but rather the shepherds shepherded themselves and did not shepherd My flock; 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh: 10 ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I am (N)against the shepherds, and I will seek My flock from their hand and make them (O)cease from shepherding the flock. So the shepherds will not shepherd themselves anymore, but I will (P)deliver My flock from their mouth so that they will not be food for them.”’”

Yahweh Will Shepherd His Flock

11 For thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I Myself will (Q)seek My sheep and care for them. 12 (R)As a shepherd [d]cares for his herd in the day when he is among his [e]sheep which are spread out, so I will [f](S)care for My [g]sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a (T)cloudy and gloomy day. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will (U)shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, by the (V)streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. 14 I will shepherd them in a (W)good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and be shepherded in [h](X)rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will (Y)shepherd My flock, and I will make them lie down,” declares Lord Yahweh. 16 “I will search for the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the (Z)fat and the strong I will destroy. I will (AA)shepherd them with judgment.

17 “As for you, My flock, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold, I will (AB)judge between one [i]sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. 18 Is it too (AC)slight a thing for you that you should be shepherded in the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must [j]foul the rest with your feet? 19 As for My flock, they must be shepherded on what you tread down with your feet and drink what you [k]foul with your feet!’”

20 Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh to them, “Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you push with side and with shoulder, and (AD)thrust at all the sickly with your horns until you have scattered them [l]abroad, 22 therefore, I will (AE)save My flock, and they will no longer be plunder; and I will judge between one sheep and another.

23 “Then I will (AF)establish over them one (AG)shepherd, My servant (AH)David, and he will shepherd them; he will shepherd them himself and be their shepherd. 24 And I, Yahweh, will be their God, and My servant (AI)David will be prince among them; I, Yahweh, have spoken.

Yahweh’s Covenant of Peace

25 “I will cut a (AJ)covenant of peace with them and (AK)cause harmful beasts to cease from the land so that they may (AL)live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places all around My hill a (AM)blessing. And I will cause (AN)showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of (AO)blessing. 27 Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit, and the earth will yield its produce, and they will be (AP)secure on their land. Then they will know that I am Yahweh, when I have (AQ)broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be plunder to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will (AR)live securely, and no one will make them tremble. 29 I will establish for them a [m](AS)renowned planting place, and they will (AT)not again be [n]victims of famine in the land, and they will not (AU)bear the dishonor of the nations anymore. 30 Then they will know that (AV)I, Yahweh their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares Lord Yahweh. 31 “As for you, My (AW)sheep, the (AX)sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,” declares Lord Yahweh.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 34:2 Lit them, the shepherds
  2. Ezekiel 34:2 Or feeding, so in ch
  3. Ezekiel 34:4 Lit sick
  4. Ezekiel 34:12 Or seek(s) out
  5. Ezekiel 34:12 Or flock
  6. Ezekiel 34:12 Or seek(s) out
  7. Ezekiel 34:12 Or flock
  8. Ezekiel 34:14 Lit fat
  9. Ezekiel 34:17 Or lamb
  10. Ezekiel 34:18 Lit foul by trampling
  11. Ezekiel 34:19 Lit foul by trampling
  12. Ezekiel 34:21 Lit to the outside
  13. Ezekiel 34:29 Lit name
  14. Ezekiel 34:29 Lit those gathered
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